#if you took the blade system from xc 2 and added it to DSMP

[kisuminight]

For a tldr on the XC 2 the Blade system: it is a cross of Steven Universe and Soul Eater, plus a magical empathy bond between both partners, the Blade and the Driver.

Blades start from core crystals, which are basically magical computer processers that look like a palm-sized gemstone. When these core crystals interact with a Player, a magical bond is created between the Player and the Blade. This is called Resonance. The Blade uses ambient magical energy, called aether and compresses it into a body to interact with the world. The Player is the Blade’s Driver (like a computer driver).

The physical forms Blades take are variable. There can be animal-shaped blades, and there can be human-shaped blades. Since this is a MC crossover AU, Blades can also look like various types of hybrids. However, even though Blades may take on appearances of other species, they do not have the special skills or instincts related to the species their form is mimicking, with some exceptions.

Blades tend to take on the characteristics of the first Driver they have. If the Blade’s first Driver is a fox hybrid, the Blade’s appearance will be that of a fox hybrid. If the Blade’s first Driver is one of the rare aether-sensitive animals, the blade will take the animal’s appearance (this is how you get beast-shaped blades).

Since the form of an Awakened Blade is made of compressed aether, they have liquid aether in their body instead of blood. The aether makes glowing circuit lines on their skin instead of having veins called aether lines. Their core crystal outwardly appears set in their front, generally around the collarbone area. Their weight is variable (depending on mood/the Blade’s current preferences).

Blades are called Blades because they each have the ability to summon a weapon (customized to that Blade) for use. A Blade’s base appearance never changes (either weapon form or physical form); Blades do not age, and the only true death for a Blade is to have their core crystal shattered, because that means the Blade can never be Awakened again. If a Blade takes lethal damage, they revert back to their core crystal instead.

Any time a Blade fully reverts to their core crystal, they lose all memories of their previous “life.” Skills they picked up will go to Procedural Memory, and they will be retained. Any emotion-based memories or personal memories will be lost. Blades also revert to their core crystal if the Resonance between Blade and Driver is broken by the Driver’s death.

Since this is a MC AU, death for a Player can be cheap. For extra angst, a Respawn counts to break the Resonance, even though it is not true death for the Player. The Blade will revert to their core crystal, and it will drop wherever the Blade happened to be. A Player recovering their Blade, when their bed is potentially far away can be harrowing. Blades are independent people, so the Blade may not have been nearby to the spot where the Player died, and there is no way to track the core crystal if the Driver does not know where it is (enchanted compasses fail when the Blade reverts to a core crystal). If the Player is on a multi-player server, it is completely possible that someone else may find and walk off with the core crystal before the original Driver can recover it.

Even if the Player can recover the core crystal, the fact remains that the Blade, as they knew them, is dead. The memory loss is complete. Blades keep the same core traits every time they are Awakened, but different experiences will lead to them becoming slightly or very different people in each life.

The memory loss portion of the Blade system can also be abused by unscrupulous people/assholes. A Blade can be killed to make it forget a secret. A Blade that has been Awake for a while an is more sure of its personality can be killed and re-Awakened by the same abusive Driver to undo any character growth. If a Driver has an enemy that kills the Blade and then Awakens the core crystal, the Blade will serve their new Driver just as faithfully and loyally as their previous Driver, and will not recognize the previous Driver even if they meet face-to-face.

Since a Blade cannot be corporeal without a Driver, all Blades have strong protective instincts towards their Driver, bordering on unconditional love by default, especially when a Blade is newly Awakened. Even in a positive Blade-Driver relationship, this can make feelings complicated, because until the Blade has a bit of real-world experience with other relationships, it can be hard to tell if the Blade actually cares for the Driver because they care or because it is magical geas/instincts.

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Anyway, c!Dream is a Blade and c!George is his Driver. And also they're keeping it a secret from basically the whole server. This fixes nothing of the early plot, and actually makes some of Dream's early paranoia worse.

Also it makes c!dnf even worse because it is hard enough to figure out and do something about love when you're just 2 guys. In this AU, it is a deliberate question for both Dream and George on whether the love is actually real or if it is because Blades always protect/love their Drivers.